


First Kiss

by LadyLoreLitany



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Insecurity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-27 20:14:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6298657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLoreLitany/pseuds/LadyLoreLitany
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finally!</p><p>I am dedicating this to @degaussedlily, who requested a first kiss fic. I hope this does the trick!</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Kiss

**Author's Note:**

  * For [degaussedlily](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=degaussedlily).



Bella walked beside Cullen out onto the battlements, looking everywhere but directly at him and trying to keep her hands still. Her heart fluttered nervously in her chest. Telling Cullen how she felt had seemed so easy a moment ago, but now she was afraid. What if she was just fooling herself? What if she had misread what had passed between them? She had no experience with romance, and despite the fact that Dorian kept reassuring her that Cullen was head over heels for her, the pit of her stomach wasn’t so sure.

Cullen rubbed the back of his neck anxiously, wishing Bella would look at him. Maker, what if he had come on too strong? What was he thinking? She was the Inquisitor, a noblewoman, and he was nobody. Worse than nobody; he was a washed-up templar playing at being a commander. Why would she want him? He almost lost his nerve, but then he looked to the side and saw that her eyes were on him. His heart clenched in his chest as he realized that they were wide and warm and full of hope.

He swallowed and took a deep breath. “It’s a nice day,” he said, unable to think of anything else, his head reeling because he had just realized that he loved Clarabella Marie Trevelyan. What a simple explanation for the maelstrom of feelings that had been whirling inside him since they had met. He loved her. But he couldn’t blurt that out in front of her now. He had to be more subtle than that.

“What?” she responded, clearly flustered. Was he really talking about the weather? What was she supposed to say? She couldn’t just tell him the things she thought about him. How ridiculous would that sound? I didn’t know they made men as handsome as you, Cullen. I think I’m in love with you, Cullen, even though I have no idea what love feels like. I think of you when I touch myself, Cullen. No. Definitely not.

Cullen stopped walking, and Bella stopped alongside him, turning slightly to face him. He licked his lower lip and gazed at her. He still hadn’t figured out what to say, so he took the coward’s way out, though he wasn’t proud of it. “It’s… there was something you wished to discuss,” he stammered. She started to twist her hands together again as she tried to choose her words carefully.

But what ended up coming out of her mouth was, “I find myself thinking of you. More than… well, all the time, really.” Her eyes grew almost impossibly wide and her cheeks flushed pink as she realized how that probably sounded. She looked worriedly at him, her features relaxing slightly as a smile spread across his face.

“I can’t say I haven’t wondered what it would be like,” he answered, walking forward again, deliberately turning away from her so she couldn’t see the absolute joy on his face. He didn’t want to scare her away with the depth of his feelings. She would need time, wouldn’t she?

Bella skipped forward, catching up to him, tendrils of hair escaping her intricate braid to fall around her face. “What’s stopping you?” she asked breathlessly, not thinking anymore. He had thought about her? What had he thought?

Finally, a question that was easy to answer. The words poured out of him. “You’re the Inquisitor. We’re at war. And you… I didn’t think it was possible.” He winced as he listed off the reasons. Was he trying to make her reconsider? He didn’t want her to. He moved closer to her, dipping his head so he wasn’t looking directly into her eyes. If he looked directly into her eyes, he was afraid that he would lose his resolve and just tell her he loved her.

“And yet I’m still here,” she said shyly, backing up against the stone wall behind her, her hands scrambling for something to grip. Was he trying to make her reconsider? She didn’t want to.

“So you are… it seems too much to ask,” he responded, still moving closer, his voice low, one side of his mouth lifting into a smile as his eyes swept over her face. She trembled as he bent down so his mouth was just inches away from hers, rising up on her toes a bit in anticipation. “But I want to…” he whispered.

She wanted him to ask, but she couldn’t speak. His hands curled around her sides, holding her in place. Maker’s breath, he was going to kiss her. She had never been kissed. What was she supposed to do? Was she supposed to do anything? She was about to panic when she heard the sound of a door opening.

“Commander!” a voice called, and she saw the soldier walk up out of the corner of her eye. All of the heat in her body flooded to her face and she lowered her head, restlessly turning it from side to side as Cullen pulled back from her. She missed the warmth of his hands on her immediately, despite her embarrassment. She forced herself to look up at the intruder along with Cullen. “You wanted a copy of Sister Leliana’s report,” the man continued, completely oblivious to what he had just interrupted.

“What?” Cullen growled angrily. She had never heard him sound like that before.

“Sister Leliana’s report,” the soldier repeated. “You wanted it delivered without delay.” Cullen glared at him, and the man’s eyes flicked to the Inquisitor, finally realizing what he had walked into. Bella looked down again, frustrated beyond belief. Surely this meant that the moment was ruined. Cullen wasn’t going to kiss her now. She had so been looking forward to it, too. 

“Or… to your office… right…” The soldier backed away hurriedly, and suddenly they were alone again. Cullen stood and watched the man go, hands clenched into fists at his sides, his stance anxious.

Bella spoke, trying to break the tension. “If you need to…” 

And then she couldn’t remember any other words, because his hands were on her face and his lips were on hers and he was kissing her.

Bella gasped, her lips tingling as Cullen kissed her fiercely. His lips were soft, and his skin was slightly rough against hers, and it was better than anything she had ever imagined. She finally realized that she was probably supposed to return the kiss, so she grasped his sides in her hands and rose up on her toes again to press her lips more firmly against his. Maker, this was intoxicating. She thought she could kiss him forever.

As Cullen kissed her, he willed the rest of the world to disappear so he could just kiss her forever. Her lips molded to his so easily, like she had always been meant to kiss him. He held her face gently in his hands, feeling the heat from her cheeks pulse against his hands. She was trembling, and he wondered if he had scared her. So much for subtle. He pulled away sooner than he wanted to, ready to apologize. “I’m sorry…” he started, but then he continued, unable to help himself, “that was… um… really nice.” He mentally shook his head at himself. Really nice? It had been so much more than really nice.

Bella gazed up at him, completely dazed. Why had he stopped? Was that how long a kiss was supposed to last? If they were really that short, she was going to need several more. He was looking at her, his eyebrows raised as if he were asking her a question. Oh! She’d have to tell him she wanted more. “That was what I wanted,” she said breathlessly, beaming up at him, watching his worry transform into an ear-splitting grin.

“Oh. Good,” he said, and oh Maker, yes, he was bending down to kiss her again. Her lips parted involuntarily, and she pulled back just a little to close them again, but he grasped her chin in his hand and ran his tongue over her lower lip before tugging it into his mouth and then kissing her deeply. She gasped again, lifting her arms to twine them around his neck. Her fingers brushed against the softness of his hair and she buried her hands in it. She had always wanted to touch his hair. His hands tightened on her waist and pulled her against him tighter, and she never wanted him to let her go.

They stood on the battlements and kissed until it grew dark.

****

Across from the battlements, Dorian leaned against the frame of the library’s window, a book propped in his hand for show. He had been watching them ever since they’d emerged from Cullen’s office. He’d thought it was all over when the messenger had interrupted them, but he had been proven quite wrong.

“Well, well, Commander,” he chuckled to himself. “I didn’t know you had it in you. It’s about damn time.”

He gazed out the window and watched them until it grew dark.


End file.
